I am NOT ready for this!

That being said...Michael is crawling. He has been crawling for about 2 weeks and he's getting pretty fast. I don't have the camera card at the moment...so no video or pictures yet.

Michael is happy to move, but he's not satisfied. Now, he wants to stand. He has pulled himself up on a diaper box to hold on to the ironing board (and he stood just fine, even if the ironing board wasn't sturdy). Just now, he pulled up on a stool and then to the couch and stood for a good 3 minutes. I just want him to crawl for a good while!! Standing up has a much greater falling distance than crawl-position. At least he's a happy baby, for the most part. He's pretty good about Adam pestering him. My boys are happy and growing. Despite the kids and I being sick this week (and last) we're feeling better. Enough so that we can go to the temple this weekend! And that means....the zoo!! Stick around for pictures! Oh, yes, and Michael's first tooth is starting to make its appearance...slowly. What a trooper!

Life with Michael

Since family is so far away...and I've been slacking on the blogger front...here's one just for Michael updates:

Michael is now sitting up! Yay! He's starting to eat solid foods a little better. I found this video from the end of July and remember how silly Michael was when I first tried to feed him.

Michael weighed 17 lbs 4 oz at his last check-up. He is now in the 50% for weight, 25% for height and suddenly 80% for head size...sounds like our family--kinda short with lots of brains.

It's a good thing Michael doesn't have teeth...yet. 7/18/10

Michael playing peek-a-boo. 7/22/10

I captured a brotherly picture! 7/22/10.

Here's Michael's 6 month picture--8/24/10.

Here's Michael in his Sunday clothes on 8/29/10.

"I Love to See the Temple"

Adam loves to sing this song and I finally get to put up some pictures from our temple trip last month. The temple (Columbia, SC) is about 4 1/2 hours away and our ward goes every other month. Thus, we go every other month. We usually go down, do some work, and come back all in the same day. We decided to make it more enjoyable for ourselves this time.

We drove down Friday evening and stayed at a hotel. Adam got to go swimming, so he was happy...even if he did only sleep 30 minutes that day.

Brian woke up early and went to the 7am session while I stayed with the kids. Lucky me, they "slept" until about 8 and then we got dressed and had breakfast. It was wonderful! Then Brian came back, took me to the temple where I did a session, and he played with the boys.

Afterwards we went to EdVenture in Columbia. It's a super cool (kind of expensive) museum full of hands-on exhibits. We were going to go to the zoo, but it was still about 95 degrees. With a threat of rain. So we went to the museum instead. Adam loved it! He even got to milk a cow!! Too bad the cow was out of milk...maybe it needs to drink more water. :)

Adam also got to play doctor (or "Uncle Jon, Richard, or Scott"). He loved playing the life-size operation.

I love this picture because you can see how much Adam loves to ride the tractors.

And just because this post needs a little more Michael...here's the boys ready for church a few weeks ago...they are so handsome!

My Dear Michael...

Today our little Michael is six months old. We don't go to the doctor for two weeks. But as of today, Michael can:

*roll over (just this past week!)

*put Dizzy Gillespie to shame with his lip buzzing (especially when there's a spoon with food going near his mouth)

*scream really loud until I hold him

*laugh and giggle with Adam (and other people too, but he really likes Adam)

*put everything in his mouth

*scoot and turn 180 degrees on both his tummy and his back

*gibber-jabber (it's so cute)

*grab onto Adam's hair when he gets too close and is bothering him

*cuddle with Mommy and Daddy to their hearts content (it's the best feeling)

*grow hair!! (it's finally coming in)

*make anyone smile...his smile is contagious

Michael is such a blessing! I do have to put in a cute moment from Adam tonight. We had the missionaries over for dinner this evening (usually a weekly occurrence) and so I made chicken Alfredo with corn and Parmesan bread with a salad. After the Elders left and Brian dropped Adam off on his way to a home teaching appointment, Adam walked down the hall, stopped to look at me and said, "thanks for making dinner Mommy. Good dinner Mommy." AH!!! My sweet little boy!! I'm glad he's picking things up like this from Brian...I almost started to cry. And that was after a successful trip to the potty. He's growing up! Pictures coming soon...

Camping and Fun Pictures

I couldn't remember if I had posted this picture of Michael or not, but it's so cute I figured it could stand a repost if I had. Thanks to Adam...Michael is a stud.

For the 4th of July we went camping at Roan Mountain. We had a lot of fun! Here are a few pictures of our fun:

Adam "locked" in the tent while Mom fed Michael and Daddy got the fire going.

Daddy and Adam on our hike by the campgrounds. It was really nice up there...we went on Mon/Tues after the big holiday and it wasn't too crowded. They even had a pool and Adam went swimming in a pool for the first time. He was scared at first, but had a blast after a few minutes.

This is what happens when Mom leaves the stroller out after taking a walk around our street...

Michael loves his bouncer and is content to play most of the time. He even loves when Adam gets in his face or bounces him a little in the chair, although Adam gets carried away often.

On Monday I had the lovely experience of calling poison control for the first time. They were really nice. When Adam wouldn't nap and insisted he had to go potty every 3 minutes (I'm not exaggerating) I had had enough...and Michael too, he was starving. The first time, Adam got into the hair conditioner. The second time, conditioner again, although this time it was hidden under the sink. So I put him in his room while I finished feeding Michael. I walk in to find a very naked Adam (thus, no pictures) covered in medicated diaper rash ointment. And he was licking it. "Did you eat any? Did you put any in your mouth?!?!?"

Adam: "Yep. Yummy Mommy!"

Mommy: "aahhhh!!!! Get in the bathtub!!!"

Luckily, the poison control lady (bless her) said just to wash out his mouth, give him some water and don't give him milk for an hour. I'm glad it wasn't worse. I still called Brian and asked him to come home, amid many tears, and fortunately he was already on his way. I know some of you moms are thinking, "oh, honey, that's nothing!" and I know there is more to come...but behold, it starts. Despite it all, I still love my son...I just needed a break, a good cry, and a good rest to remember. I love my children. I'm glad I can laugh about it now.